Pope Leo XIV Urges Priests to Stop Using ChatGPT for Sermons

Pope Leo XIV has issued a special directive to clergy during a closed-door meeting at the Vatican, urging them to cease using AI chatbots such as ChatGPT for composing their sermons.

“Like muscles in the body, if we don’t use them, if they are not exercised, they die. The brain must be used, our intelligence must be trained a little so that it does not lose its capacity,” the Pope said, as quoted by Vatican News.

The Pope affirmed that AI, no matter how advanced it becomes in the future, cannot replace a priest.

“Delivering a homily [sermon] is about sharing faith. AI cannot share faith,” the Pope stated.

In addition to AI, the Pope also issued a warning about blurring the lines between online life through social media and real life.

“If authentic life is rooted in God, they offer something special to the world. Treating followers and likes as authentic spiritual relationships is an illusion on the internet, on TikTok,” he said, as quoted by Vatican News.

The Pope’s statement comes amid plans for the Vatican to launch its own AI translation system. The Vatican plans to release a program that can translate religious texts into 60 languages in real-time.